With the arrival of Shrek Academy, the competition registration ceremony officially ended, and various academies formally held pre-war mobilization meetings.
Calling them pre-war mobilization meetings was misleading. They were mostly about discussing potential opponents, and most teams were praying not to encounter Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Star Luo National Academy, Imperial Heaven Academy, and other seeded academies, only to be eliminated in the first round.
Because the first round of the competition was an elimination round and a team battle, losing one match meant immediate elimination.
Only a few seeded teams discussed the members of other teams and conducted pre-war analysis.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, which consistently took second place in the competition, was also discussing. However, their discussion target was only Shrek Academy.
On the top floor of the Star Emperor Hotel, in the exclusive conference room of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Jing Hongchen, sitting at the head, wore a grave expression.
His gaze occasionally swept over Wang Lin, who was sitting below, flipping through a small official rule booklet, seemingly trying to read something from his expression.
The old man on Jing Hongchen's left, with a straight nose, square mouth, and handsome features, his face the color of dark jujube, lowered his steady eyes and said in a deep voice.
"Shrek Academy's team only brought ten people this time. Only three of them are older than fifteen, and the other seven are under fifteen.
"And only two of those three were members of the reserve team in the last competition."
As soon as his voice fell, the robust, bearded old man with short white hair on Jing Hongchen's right, who was equally tall, slammed the table.
"This is contempt! Shrek Academy is showing contempt for our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy!"
At this remark, the gathered members immediately became indignant. Wang Lin, flipping through the small official rule booklet in his hand, heard the word "contempt" and shook his head.
Contempt my foot. Shrek Academy's arrangement was excellent. They even chose a Soul King level opponent for the pre-competition training, just in case something unexpected happened with higher cultivation levels.
But who would have thought that Xuan Zi was too "effective," leading the team to their doom.
Jing Hongchen, who was constantly scanning Wang Lin, saw Wang Lin's small action and thought: As expected, the Holy Spirit Cult did it. The Holy Spirit Cult actually dared to attack!
Thinking of this, Jing Hongchen contemplated the meaning of the Holy Spirit Cult's action. His peripheral vision suddenly caught Meng Hongchen staring blankly below the platform.
Could it be for my granddaughter!?
Jing Hongchen's heart tightened as he realized this. Damn it. The more I think about it, the more possible it seems.
First, there was Zhang Peng's hint when Wang Lin entered the academy, and then that Soul Motor thesis, which by all accounts didn't seem like something Wang Lin, a novice who had never studied soul tools, could have produced.
Wang Lin, who hadn't reported to the academy at the beginning of the semester, suddenly appeared in Star Luo City and provided complete intelligence on the Shrek Academy participants.
Jing Hongchen specifically went to see the Shrek Academy team today, and the information matched Wang Lin's intelligence perfectly.
Shrek Academy should not have fielded such a team, and although the three members over fifteen years old hid it well, Jing Hongchen could still see that they were injured.
Excluding an attack by someone from the Holy Spirit Cult, Jing Hongchen couldn't imagine who else would dare and be able to attack Shrek Academy members.
With various factors added up, Jing Hongchen realized a terrifying fact: the Holy Spirit Cult might not just be interested in his granddaughter, but in the entire Hongchen family.
If he wasn't mistaken, this Wang Lin would inevitably present something else beneficial to his grandson or granddaughter.
That damned Holy Spirit Cult!
Thinking this, Jing Hongchen's eyes became sharper and sharper as he looked at Wang Lin. His Hongchen family must never have any unnecessary connection with Evil Soul Masters.
Wang Lin felt a bit uneasy under the gaze and immediately looked up. Jing Hongchen also withdrew his gaze at this moment. Wang Lin looked suspiciously at Jing Hongchen but didn't think much of it.
He didn't know that Jing Hongchen had already concocted a complete evil plan in his mind for the Holy Spirit Cult to deal with the Hongchen family.
At this moment, the bearded old man slammed the table again and said: "Ma Rulong, if you lose this competition to a Shrek Academy lineup like this, you, the captain, can get out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall."
"Yes!" Ma Rulong, who bore a slight resemblance to the old man, stood up and shouted.
Xiao Hongchen, sitting next to Wang Lin and opposite Ma Rulong, showed a look of disdain and was about to interject, but Wang Lin pressed down on his shoulder.
"Don't talk nonsense, Little Xiao. Listen carefully!"
Wang Lin's voice rang out in Xiao Hongchen's ear. Xiao Hongchen was about to speak but found that only he seemed to have heard Wang Lin's voice.
"Voice transmission through soul power. A little trick I just recently figured out." Wang Lin explained in his ear, seeing Xiao Hongchen's confused expression.
But Xiao Hongchen still looked puzzled. He hadn't even seen Wang Lin open his mouth to speak.
"The kid is likely silly. My current skin is just a disguise. How can you be sure whether I opened my mouth to speak or not?" Wang Lin saw through Xiao Hongchen's confusion again and explained once more.
Ignoring Xiao Hongchen's annoyed expression, Wang Lin continued: "If you want to say that Shrek Academy might have encountered an accident, then don't bother. Elder Ma is not an idiot. If you thought of it, why wouldn't Elder Ma? He's saying that to boost morale."
Xiao Hongchen, whose thoughts were immediately exposed, was momentarily stunned. Wang Lin's voice rang out again: "Don't let pride blind your eyes. Experience and wisdom are not innate. You must stand at the highest point and let the world see your talent."
Hearing the phrase, "You must stand at the highest point and let the world see your talent," Xiao Hongchen's eyes immediately lit up. Isn't that what he was striving for!
Wang Lin noticed the change in Xiao Hongchen's expression. As expected, he still needed to pour some motivational chicken soup into this kid. At the age of fourteen or fifteen, chicken soup was still useful.
"Sit down. Now let's arrange the lineup for the first round." The bearded old man, Elder Ma, said.
Ma Rulong nodded and sat down. Elder Ma began arranging the lineup for tomorrow's match. Wang Lin did not participate, as he was unfamiliar with the teams. He continued to read the rule booklet in his hand attentively.
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The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight illuminated Star Luo City, Wang Lin, who had woken up early, changed into Yanzu's appearance and hurried to the Star Luo Plaza.
All the streets surrounding Star Luo Plaza were blockaded by soldiers in bright armor, especially near the Star Emperor Hotel, where thousands of soldiers were stationed. The street leading from here to the Star Luo Plaza was completely sealed off.
With his credentials, Wang Lin easily passed through the soldiers' blockade and joined the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team. As a leading teacher, Wang Lin naturally walked alongside Jing Hongchen and the others.
As a team that consistently held the second position, the only team ranked ahead of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was Shrek Academy.
Not just Wang Lin, but all members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team, including the leading teachers, were currently observing the Shrek Academy members ahead of them.
As if noticing the scrutiny from behind, the Shrek Academy members in front involuntarily straightened their backs.